The latest Oakland City Budget document dropped yesterday, and in it Mayor Ron Dellums is proposing laying off 140 of the city's 803 police officers in order to help meet an estimated $80 to $100 million shortfall this year. The budget crisis stems from a loss in property tax revenue as well as rising costs for employee retirement funds and healthcare.
Also in the proposed budget is the elimination of 249 other municipal positions as well as a 5% decrease in civilian employee salaries. Dellums is seeking a $67 million federal grant to offset the shortfall, but the city will not know whether they will receive the grant until September and they've been told not to count on it. After the jump, a little bit of KRON4 sky-is-falling-style coverage of the crisis.